| Advisory Opinion request on behalf of Taylor Porter Law Firm regarding post employment restrictions involving attorney Grant Willis in connection with a contract with the State of Louisiana for legal services. |
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Grant Willis was previously employed by the Office of the Attorney General, where he worked as executive counsel to the Board of Pardons and was Section Chief over the Criminal Appeals Section, within the Criminal Division. He supervised three attorneys related to writ applications and criminal appeals on matters received via District Attorney recusals; prosecuted criminal cases in districts courts through the State; tracked proposed legislation; constitutional challenges, and prosecuted insurance fraud. Mr. Willis left his position in January 2024.
Mr. Willis is currently special counsel with the Taylor Porter Law Firm. Taylor Porter has contracted with the Solicitor General's Division of the AG's office to provide legal services in connection with post-conviction relief challenges brought by convicted death row inmates. The only work performed by Taylor Porter at this time has been related to inmate Antoinette Frank.
Mr. Willis's employment with the AG did not involve the Solicitor General Division, death penalty cases, or any related post-conviction relief proceedings. Mr. Willis did not perform any duties on the case related to Antoinette Frank.
Taylor Porter stated that should any case assignment involve any matter in which Mr. Willis participated tangentially or otherwise, Taylor Porter will not accept the assignment. Taylor Porter also points out that Mr. Willis was the administrative supervisor of lawyers that worked on the death penalty case involving Frank Ford Cosey. If asked to assist with any work involving Frank Cosey, Taylor Porter will decline such representation during the post-employment period.
NOTE: John Murrill is a partner in Taylor Porter and is married to Attorney General Liz Murrill.
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La. R.S. 42:1121A(1) provides no former agency head or elected official shall, for a period of two years following the termination of his public service as the head of such agency or as an elected public official serving in such agency, assist another person, for compensation, in a transaction, or in an appearance in connection with a transaction, involving that former agency or render any service on a contractual basis to or for such agency.
La. R.S. 42:1121A(1) provides no former agency head or elected official shall, for a period of two years following the termination of his public service as the head of such agency or as an elected public official serving in such agency, assist another person, for compensation, in a transaction, or in an appearance in connection with a transaction, involving that former agency or render any service on a contractual basis to or for such agency.
La. R.S. 42:1121B(1): No former public employee shall, for a period of two years following the termination of his public employment, assist another person, for compensation, in a transaction, or in an appearance in connection with a transaction in which such former public employee participated at any time during his public employment and involving the governmental entity by which he was formerly employed, or for a period of two years following termination of his public employment, render, any service which such former public employee had rendered to the agency during the term of his public employment on a contractual basis, regardless of the parties to the contract, to, for, or on behalf of the agency with which he was formerly employed.
La. R.S. 42:1121C provides that no legal entity in which a former public servant is an officer, director, trustee, partner, or employee shall, for a period of two years following the termination of his public service, assist another person, for compensation, in a transaction, or in an appearance in connection with a transaction in which such public servant at any time participated during his public service and involving the agency by which he was formerly employed or in which he formerly held office.
La. R.S. 42:1113D(1)(a)(i) prohibits each person holding statewide elected office, the spouse of such elected official, and any legal entity of the such person from entering into any contract with state government.
La. R.S. 42:1113D(1)(a)(iii) defines a "legal entity of a person" to mean any corporation, partnership, or other legal entity in which a person identified in Item (ii) of this Subparagraph or the spouse of such person owns an interest of greater than five percent, except a publicly traded corporation or a legal entity in which the person owns a passive interest that is the result of participation in a federally approved program of employee ownership.
La. R.S. 42:1113D(1)(a)(v) defines "state government" to mean any branch, agency, department, or institution of state government or with the Louisiana Insurance Guaranty Association, the Louisiana Health Insurance Guaranty Association, or any other state quasi public entity created in law.
La. R.S. 42:1113D(1)(b):
(i) No immediate family member, except the spouse, of a person identified in Item (a)(ii) of this Paragraph, nor any legal entity of a family member shall enter into any contract with state government unless the contract is awarded by competitive bidding after being advertised and awarded in accordance with Part II of Chapter 10 of Title 38 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950 or is competitively negotiated through a request for proposal process or any similar competitive selection process in accordance with Chapter 16 or 17 of Title 39 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950; however, this exception for competitively negotiated contracts shall not include contracts for consulting services.
(ii) The provisions of this Subparagraph shall not prohibit a contract for professional services entered into with the attorney general which is based on criteria set forth by the office of risk management.
La. R.S. 42:1111C(2)(d) provides that no public servant and no legal entity in which the public servant exercises control or owns an interest in excess of twenty-five percent, shall receive any thing of economic value for or in consideration of services rendered, or to be rendered, to or for any person during his public service unless such services are: (d) Neither performed for nor compensated by any person or from any officer, director, agent, or employee of such person, if such public servant knows or reasonably should know that such person has or is seeking to obtain contractual or other business or financial relationships with the public servant's agency;
La. R.S. 42:1117 provides that no public servant or other person shall give, pay, loan, transfer, or deliver or offer to give, pay, loan, transfer, or deliver, directly or indirectly, to any public servant or other person any thing of economic value which such public servant or other person would be prohibited from receiving by any provision of this Part.
La. R.S. 42:1114 provides that each public servant and each member of his immediate family who derives anything of economic value, directly, through any transaction involving the agency of such public servant or who derives any thing of economic value of which he may be reasonably expected to know through a person which (1) is regulated by the agency of such public servant, or (2) has bid on or entered into or is in any way financially interested in any contract, subcontract, or any transaction under the supervision or jurisdiction of the agency of such public servant shall disclose certain information as set forth in Section 1114.
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| Assigned Attorney: |
David Bordelon |
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